The attack was coming. Of that, there was no doubt.
She could sense the intruders moving closer.
She shifted slightly, brushing up against her partner. His touch reassured her, letting her know that he was also aware and prepared.
They waited patiently, knowing their attackers were sorely lacking in that particular virtue.
Finally, it came.
Swift and loud.
"Mommy! Daddy! Wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas!"
"Cwismass! Cwissmas!"
"Get up! Get up!"
Small missiles bounced on the bed, shaking the two adults as they repeated their mantras, the dog contributing an occasional bark.
They both sat up, grabbing at the small, wriggly bodies.
"It's awfully early, munchkins," she told them, leveling a stern gaze at the child in her arms.
"It's Christmas, Mommy!"
"Really?" She looked over at her husband. "Christmas?"
He shook his head. "I don't think so. Isn't that next week?" he asked seriously.
"Daddy!" another little one protested. "It's today!"
"Cwismas!" the littlest one added to the conversation.
He grabbed up the baby, his fingers seeking and finding the most ticklish spot and was rewarded with a sweet giggle.
"Me, too!" the others insisted, throwing themselves on their father.
She threw back the blankets, gasping as the cold air hit her. Quickly grabbing her robe, she slipped into it and stepped into her slippers.
"Toss me the one most likely to need a fresh diaper," she told her husband.
He looked at the group, pointing to one, eyebrow cocked.
"Daddy!"
Finally, he pointed at the littlest one. When everyone nodded. He scooped up the warm bundle and gently launched it towards his wife. She made a neat catch and headed next door into the nursery. There was a squeal of protest when she unzipped the sleeper and the cool morning air hit bare skin.
"I know. I'll try to be quick. It would be really helpful if you would stay still," she explained.
Of course, that suggestion was met with the usual wiggles, but she was still pleased with how quickly she was able to get the diaper changed and the warm pajamas zipped back up.
Practice may not make perfect, but it sure improved performance. At least, there was one part of this parenting thing that she seemed to have down.
"Better?" she asked.
"Cwismas!" was the excited response. The dog, who had followed her, barked agreement.
She stepped out of the room to find her husband facing one of the parts of parenting he still struggled with regularly.
The baby gate at the top of the stairs.
"Button in, push down on the lever, swing the gate open," he mumbled.
He did the first two, but the gate remained firmly latched. Shaking his head, he finally just stepped over it, then lifted the children over one by one.
As always, she had a sneaking suspicion that he was fully capable of managing the gate, it was simply more fun to do it this was.
And the giggles were far more rewarding than simply walking down the stairs.
She walked over and he reached out his arms for the little one. Arching her eyebrow, she reached down and easily released the latch, sashaying past him to descend the stairs.
He laughed, but moved quickly to walk beside her. Though he had never mentioned it, she had noticed that he always seemed to stay close when she was going down the stairs with one of the kids in her arms. At first, she had been a bit annoyed, thinking he doubted her competency. Finally, though, she had simply decided to accept it as a show of concern for her as well as the child.
At the bottom of the stairs, he repeated the process, lifting each child over the gate. The dog jumped over, following the children into the other room. Before she could protest, he swung her up in his arms, stepping over the gate easily. He kissed her lightly as he set her back on her feet, then took the toddler from her arms, blowing a raspberry on a chubby cheek.
They walked into the living room where the older children were already eyeing the brightly lit tree. The little one squirmed straining to get down.
Setting the child down, her husband took her hand and let her over to sit on the love seat. He looked over at the small, expectant faces.
"So. What are we going to do today? Clean the bathrooms? Do laundry?"
"Daddy!" came the chorus of protests.
"Pwesents?"
She looked down at the tiny face, so similar to her husbands, then over at the larger version.
"Presents, Daddy," she reminded him.
He looked over at the tree as though noticing the gifts for the first time. "Oh, yeah. There are a few presents there, aren't there? I suppose we should probably open those, shouldn't we, Mommy?"
"Probably so," she agreed. "Get them out of the living room."
There was a chorus of happy cheers as the older children started pulling packages out from under the tree, reading off the names and handing them off to the proper recipient.
The tree was a good sized fir, brightly lit by numerous strings of lights. There were a few of the nicer ornaments towards the top, but the bottom section was covered with an assortment of decorations made from tissue, paper plates, pine cones, and popsicle sticks. It was starting to drop needles and sticky sap, but filled the house with a rich, outdoorsy scent.
Her husband was helping the oldest balance on a shiny, new bike, and she smiled, remembering the night before. She had watched him sitting in the floor, the pieces scattered around him as he perused the assembly instructions, mumbling softly to himself.
The dog wandered from child to child, yipping happily as they showed their new treasures. The cat had started the morning watching disinterestedly from the back of the chair, but had soon been enticed by a dangling ribbon and a choice of empty boxes.
Under the chair, she noticed the shoes she had kicked off the night before upon their return from candlelight Christmas eve services.
She felt the cushion next to dip as her husband resumed his seat next to her.
"You look very deep in thought," he commented, reaching over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. His knuckles gently traced the line of her jaw. "What's on your mind?"
Her attention was drawn back to the joyous chaos in the middle of the room. She smiled.
"Just thinking," she told him.
"Wondering what I got you for Christmas?" he teased.
She shook her head. "I'm thinking that this may be one of the most surreal moments of my life," she told him.
He laughed and looked at her in disbelief. "You've faced terrorists, armies of invading aliens, mythical gods, and homicidal robots. You've stared down weapons most people can't imagine even exist. You've had more near death experiences than an action movie damsel in distress. You've been involved with the Avengers. And THIS is the most surreal moment of your life?"
"One of them," she corrected. "And yes, it is. In an odd way, I kind of expected that other stuff a whole lot more than I ever expected this."
"You expected all that?"
"Maybe not all that, exactly. I guess what was expected was the bad stuff. I got used to the worst possible outcomes and learned to deal with those. The good stuff? That's unexpected and I still can't entirely believe it's all real."
She reached up to wipe the tears running down her face, only to have him do so first.
"It's as real as it gets. I love you," he whispered, kissing her softly.
"I love you, too. Merry Christmas," she replied.
"God bless us, everyone."
"He has indeed," she confirmed. "Quite thoroughly."
This is the newest addition to my 'choose your own pairing' stories. If you read my other stories, you probably know which female character I had in mind, but, again, I couldn't decide which pairing I wanted to go with. I think I left it ambigous enough that you can plug in pretty much any male/female couple of your choosing. I'd love to know who you put in the lead roles.
This was sort of inspired by the Christmas song "You Gotta Get Up!' by the late, great Rich Mullins. He was an amazing singer/songwriter and his talents are sorely missed.
Merry Christmas, my dear readers. I appreciate each and every one of you. Whether you celebrate the birth of my Savior or not, I wish the peace of Christ in your lives at this time of year and always.
"For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shal find the babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men"
Luke 2:11-14